We need to talk about how bad 2000's reality TV shows really were

The new Netflix docuseries, Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, has thrust the show back into the spotlight. But, it's only the tip of the iceberg.

You wouldn’t be alone if you’ve ever reminisced about the glory days of 2000’s reality TV.

There were no streaming services, so you had to wait, watch and discuss every episode with the rest of the world. And, things were completely unfiltered, meaning you could see the good, the bad, and the ugly, right there on your screen with absolutely zero shame from the contestants.

But, though it was all fun and games at the time, people are beginning to realise that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

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Contestants on the 2015 season of The Biggest Loser Australia. Image: Channel 10.

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It’s worse than you remember

A new three-part docuseries, Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser, has just come out on Netflix, showcasing how the original Biggest Loser series was made, and discussing its complicated legacy with those who made it happen.

The Biggest Loser premiered in the US in 2004 and ran for 18 seasons, wrapping up for good in 2020. The show featured overweight and obese contestants, grouped into teams, and involved them undertaking some harsh and often humiliating challenges and temptations. Contestants would participate in weigh-ins every week, with one ultimately crowned ‘The Biggest Loser’ at the end of the season.

The show was an immediate success, and resulted in close to 40 countries creating their own adaptations - including here in Australia - as well as the creation of multiple spin-off series’ and video games.

And, while people didn’t see too much of a problem with it at the time, as years have passed, its problematic truths have been unearthed.

In addition to the dangers of the actual training and diets many of the contestants have said they were exposed to (which resulted in vomiting and hospitalisation - and that’s just the beginning), the mental damages of a show entrenched in fatphobia are undeniable.

But, that’s what the 2000s were all about.

The Biggest Loser was just the tip of the iceberg

If you’ve been on TikTok lately, chances are you’ve seen a clip of a woman removing a paper bag from her head, only to be met with laughter and faces of disgust from the crowd.

The clip is part of a show hosted by shock jock radio host Howard Stern in 2004. The segment, called the ‘Miss Buttaface Contest’, was broadcast live in Las Vegas, and aimed to find the ‘ugliest’ woman with the best body, and poor Stacy, in this clip, was their first victim.

At the time, people clearly thought it was hilarious. But now? Not so much.

Howard Stern's 'Buttaface Contest'.

It’s the same with the enigma that is America’s Next Top Model and its many spin-offs - including the Australian series. A show which was once loved for host Tyra Banks’ cutthroat attitude, and has since been called out for humiliating and degrading its young participants.

The 2000s was famous for its variety of odd makeover shows. The Swan, airing for two seasons, saw women called ‘ugly ducklings’ undergo a three-month transformation - including work from dentists, personal trainers and cosmetic surgeons - to ‘help their self esteem’. Sure, Jan. 10 Years Younger, which has aired on-and-off in the UK and in Australia as 10 Years Younger in 10 Days, involved a contestants’ age being guessed by random people on the street, before they would undergo a full makeover to see if they can look - you guessed it - 10 years younger.

Then, we have all the odd family-based shows. Wife Swap, Toddlers & Tiaras, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Date My Mom, Kid Nation - all totally strange, and couldn’t have possibly aged worse.

And, in the era of The Biggest Loser, we also had plenty of other toxic weight loss shows, including Supersize vs Superskinny and Embarrassing Bodies, all of which employed shame to cause all kinds of harm to its participants and viewers - whether you realised it or not.

Yes, it was really that bad

There are plenty of modern reality TV moments that viewers consider to be unnecessary.

After 41 seasons of Survivor in the US, host Jeff Probst announced that he’d no longer say ‘Come on in, guys’ to greet contestants, to be replaced by the simpler and more inclusive ‘Come on in’.

On a number of recent seasons of Love Island and Big Brother (both shows where, 10 or 20 years ago, you would see couples get it on uncensored while others cheered them on), contestants have been pulled from filming with nothing but a vague two-line explanation, after viewers found out about their racist or abusive pasts.

And, you can call that woke all you like. But, I’d rather our reality TV be a little cushy than whatever it was we were watching 20 years ago.

Originally published as We need to talk about how bad 2000's reality TV shows really were